The God of Thunder in the Hollow Night
by AzureValentine
Summary: He hides. He hides to carry out his mission: Destroy the Blitz Engines. A stranger in a strange land, the electric soldier known as Akatsuki is determined to see his mission through, no matter how many In-Births gets in his way. Based on Akatsuki Blitzkampf and a bit on Akatsuki's UNIB arcade story. Updates can take anywhere from a few days to two weeks. Cover by Tetsu.


The cessation of movement in the cargo ship awoke Akatsuki. As he opened his eyes, he could see out the window that the sky was starting to darken. Night was swiftly approaching. Akatsuki picked up his black longcoat and put it on over his white military uniform. He had a full stomach thanks to the ship's small cafeteria. Nobody minded that he was onboard. He paid the captain with money the military provided him with for emergency situations in exchange for letting him stay. Akatsuki wasn't the type to stow away illegally on a vessel. Especially now that he had the Blitz Engine. Caught with that, he would probably be executed by the military back home.

Ah, yes. The Blitz Engine. Akatsuki could still recall when his squad was given the engineering marvel. They were transporting it in the Arctic when they were shot down. He was the sole survivor, only living because he was encased in ice. Fifty years later, Akatsuki awoke from his cold sleep to a whole new world. A world that wanted the Blitz Engine he carried. From mobsters, to the Third Reich, to his old superior officer, and to the secret society Gesellschaft.

But he could not just hand over the Blitz Engine, for he had something to do with it first.

"In the event the mission fails, destroy the Blitz Engine and erase all traces of it's existence."

That's the reason why he was here. He fully intended to finish what he started fifty years ago, and he was not going to let anyone or anything stop him. Not Gesellschaft and their super soldiers, not an army of formerly decommissioned Blitztanks, not Adler and his Elektrosoldats, and certainly not Murakumo.

To finish his mission, he needed to head to Mt. Fuji. There, he will demolish the powerful lightning engine once and for all. And after that…

"He said there were eight.", Akatsuki thought. "He wanted to monopolize the Blitz Engines to become a god… I will not let that happen!" He still remembered what he said to the maniacal officer. "Humans will not become like gods or machines… It all ends here." Akatsuki knew Murakumo would be looking for him. He expected lots of resistance on his way to Fuji. But with the Blitz Engine on his side, he was confident that he could stop anyone who got in the way of his mission.

As the sun finished setting, and as the people of the sleepy town returned to their homes, Akatsuki made his way out of the harbor, and started walking. The blue of the Pacific Ocean was swiftly replaced with the purple, grey, orange, and green of the town of Kanzakai at night.

It was not long before he found trouble. As he made his way through the streets, a sound that resembled the splashing of water emerged from behind him. He turned and got into his combat stance, looking for any enemy combatants. Akatsuki could tell that it hadn't rained here recently. There should be no reason for water or puddles to make their presence known.

Suddenly, the puddle at his feet darted between his legs, and Akatsuki felt like he had been lightly cut. He winced in pain while his eyes caught a figure stepping out of the shadows. "Hahah, yes! The Hollow Night just started, and already there's some fresh meat for me!" Out of the darkness was a young, slim man with long red hair, red pants held up by a silver belt, a sleeveless black jacket, and what appeared to be red arms and entirely red eyes. "Oh? Looks like someone new's joined the party!"

His voice sounded like that of an older teenager trying too hard to sound cool. Still, Akatsuki could tell he posed a somewhat sizable threat. Akatsuki saw him raise his arms, and sidestepped onto the side of the road before the red pinwheel that appeared out of seemingly nowhere could slice him.

Carmine let out a laugh, summoning the puddle back towards him. Well, he was laughing, until he heard Akatsuki speak. The officer's deep voice was not something he expected from his early-twenties look. He also did not expect him to say what he said. "I'm sorry, but… Who are you?" Carmine ceased his laughter, and his eyes widened in shock. Processing what Akatsuki said was somewhat painful to him. "...What the hell? Listen here, you shit! You telling me you don't know who Carmine Prime is?!" Akatsuki kept his cool throughout the teenager's increase in hostility, even though it seemed as if he couldn't be any more hostile than he was before. "I cannot say that I do."

Carmine then launched a red spike at Akatsuki. Once again, Akatsuki rolled out of the way. The spike hit the car that was behind him, and dissolved into a second puddle on the road. It looked he had no choice but to use the power of the Blitz Engine. He turned his left hand into a fist and launched a ball of electricity at Carmine, who leapt about six or seven feet off the ground and over the shock ball. Akatsuki could act surprised about the teen's incredible jumping height later.

Before landing, Carmine spread his arms and manipulated the dissolves again, bringing them closer to Akatsuki. He landed and then started yelling once more. "My name is Carmine Prime! The most feared In-Birth in Kanzakai! I use my own blood to slice and beat the shit out of people to see the pathetic look on their faces when they lose! And right now, that's what I'm gonna do to you! So die!"

Akatsuki was barely listening to him. All he heard was the part about his blood. "So he fights with his blood? That must hurt him, doesn't it? Could he be a super soldier?" Akatsuki lunged towards him to try and close the distance. Akatsuki didn't have much when it came to ranged combat like this Carmine fellow had. He saw Carmine raise his arm again, and another pinwheel came out of them. Akatsuki blocked as best he could against the spinning blood blade, but then felt a sharp pain in his feet as he fell backward. Two pinwheels had raced along the ground towards Carmine, hitting Akatsuki from behind. The ground wheels disappeared before they could hit Carmine, and the one in the air dissolved into a puddle.

The Crimson Origin walked over and looked down at the soldier on the ground. "Weak! Look at you, on the ground! Don't tell me you're done already, you weak shit!" Akatsuki then got on his feet, and before Carmine could react, he rocketed up into the air like a human cannon, uppercutting him with an electric fist. Carmine came crashing down onto the ground, while Akatsuki landed on his feet. Carmine wasn't the only one surprised. Akatsuki was expecting that to hurt himself more than it did Carmine, due to the cuts in his legs and feet. However, he felt no pain.

Brushing that fact to the side for now, Akatsuki dashed forward again as Carmine was getting up. As soon as Carmine got up, he found himself having to deal with punches and kicks from Akatsuki. The electric soldier got a few hits in, releasing a few grunts of pain from the teenager.

Before his now electrified fist could connect with his face, Carmine raised a shield of hard, crystallised blood to defend himself. Despite hitting the hard shield, Akatsuki would not give up. He was an expert in close quarters combat. All he needed to do was open up Carmine's defenses. He quickly crouched and delivered a quick kick to his legs. While that did some damage, it wasn't enough to stop Carmine's bloody hand covered in red spikes from coming down and smacking Akatsuki in the head, followed by a blood spike and a crystal coming out of the ground under his feet, which then dissolved. Akatsuki was pushed back by Carmine's defensive onslaught, but he couldn't fall now. He lunged for the third time. Carmine anticipated this and sent the dissolve to Akatsuki's legs. However, Akatsuki also expected this. Before the puddle could slash him again, he leapt and delivered a shocking kick straight to the side of Carmine's head.

The redhead was turned to the left by the force of his attack, and Akatsuki found his opening. "This is the end for you!", the soldier yelled. Upon landing, he placed his hands on Carmine's sides, and sent a surge of electricity through his hands. "Aaaaaaugh!", Carmine yelled as he felt crackling, burning, and electricity wreaking havoc on his body. The surge ended with a small explosion as the Crimson Origin was launched backwards about five feet, falling limp to the floor. Akatsuki was panting slightly as he watched the red in his hair and arms seemingly get washed away, revealing his bare arms and his natural hair colour of white.

"I think that's all. My assailant has been dealt with.", Akatsuki said to himself. He picked his longcoat up off the ground and dusted it, before putting it back on. Carmine put up a good fight, and he had unique, interesting powers Akatsuki had never seen before. However…

Akatsuki took off his shoes and checked his feet, sitting on the sidewalk. His heels, his tendon, and his ankles weren't hurting anymore. There were a few scratches and a bit of blood, but… Nothing else. Strange, he could feel his feet being sliced at the beginning of the fight. He could not check his legs without removing his pants, so he assumed they were fine as well. He put his shoes back on, and then felt his stomach grumbling. He sighed. "A side effect of the Blitz Engine, and why I do not wish to use it often." Usage of the Blitz Engine made him hungry due to the intense pressure it put on his body, pushing him to beyond normal human limits.

He decided to grab a bite to eat and left, before the bloody teen woke up. Akatsuki did not know how much longer his money would hold up for. He had precisely 13,691 yen left. Enough to sustain him if he ate quick, cheap food for a bit, after that… He might have to start taking money from those he defeated in combat. "For the sake of the mission…", he thought.

The lightning soldier headed off into the town, unknowing as to the true nature of the Night he had stumbled into.


End file.
